World briefing

Military claims big gains against rebels

August 21, 2008

COLOMBO, SRI LANKA — The Sri Lankan military says it has broken through the Tamil Tigers' defenses in recent weeks, ending a prolonged stalemate and stirring predictions of an imminent rebel defeat after 25 years of civil war.

Troops overran a major rebel naval base July 16 and then pushed deep into the north, capturing four more bases and entering the rebel heartland in the Kilinochchi district for the first time in 11 years.